Appreciate the Under-Appreciated: AJ McCarron Takes His Final Bow

He's won three National Championships, but he doesn't have the personality to earn him twenty minutes of air-time on an hour-long Sportscenter. He finished second in the Heisman voting this year, but you wouldn't find him speaking out to reporters. He's AJ McCarron, and he's as professional as they come. So why has the Alabama quarterback seemed to come and go without ever really getting the recognition he deserves? Don't be fooled, he's been on national radar as one of, if not the best, quarterbacks in the country and has led the Crimson Tide to historic success. He has not flown under the radar completely, but he's not as popular to the press as the colorful Johnny Manziel or the young phenom Jameis Winston. I'm sure if you asked him, he wouldn't care one bit. But it's time for us as football fans to care, because tonight will be the final time we'll have the chance to watch one of the best quarterbacks in Alabama history don the crimson and white.

McCarron has enjoyed stellar success at Alabama

With the Sugar Bowl only minutes away, take the time to notice just how fun it has been to watch McCarron these past few years. He led the SEC in pass completion percentage in 2011, boasting a 66.8%, and, not counting tonight, has completed 67% of his passes throughout his collegiate career which places him third all time in the SEC. To put that in perspective, McCarron has attempted over 305 passes each of the past three years. Efficient might be an understatement.

But with all that in mind, AJ McCarron has never really racked up gaudy numbers. He's only ever led the conference in passing efficiency rating and adjusted passing yards per attempted, both of which he finished first in 2012. Yet people have tended to get so caught up in the individual statistics nowadays. All the talk about Johnny Manziel's numbers compared to his numbers from last year is justifiable and well-deserved. After all the kid IS one of the best quarterbacks in the game, but what has his TEAM done? Texas A&M did not reach a BCS bowl game and finished outside of the top 20. AJ McCarron's team? Just barely missing yet another National Championship yet boasting a 36-3 record with McCarron as its starter. What McCarron has done at Alabama is nothing short of amazing and should be treasured while it culminates with yet another BCS bowl appearance tonight.

The AJs of Alabama

Yet it's more than football when it comes to McCarron's career. And no, that's not a reference to his relationship with Katherine Webb. In a special segment done during the pregame just minutes ago we had the chance to see the relationship McCarron has with the team's assistant equipment manager, AJ Starr. Their friendship started when Starr missed a campus shuttle in 2011, only to be asked by the starting quarterback if he needed a ride. With so many school records, and so many people wanting to talk to McCarron, their was no sense of ego and no sense of misplaced pride. Starr, who lives with cerebral palsy, noted in the segment that it was tough for him to make friends while at school and yet it was the most popular kid on campus who finally reached out to the struggling Starr. It presented the college football world with an image of McCarron that was grounded and human. It's more than just football, it's more than just sport. AJ McCarron is someone that should be remembered just as much for his character and professionalism as he should for his historic performances on the gridiron.

So with that we come to tonight. The stage is set for the 2013 Sugar Bowl where McCarron will suit up one last time for Alabama as they attempt to take down the Sooners of Oklahoma. It's just one more game for McCarron to prove he's one of the best to ever play in an Alabama uniform and another three hours of must-watch television. AJ McCarron's as good as they come and whether you're a fan of Alabama or not, you have to appreciate the player that McCarron has been. We may not see another winner like this young man for quite some time.

"If this was a prize fight they would have called it off"

Brent Musberger couldn't have said it better after Alabama scored at one point in the second half. The Crimson Tide rolled all over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in route to their third title in four years. It's a dynasty that hasn't been seen since the Nebraska teams of the late 90's and the scary thing is that like Kirk Herbstreit said, they might only be in the middle of it.

It was over after the first quarter as Bama led 21-0 and at halftime Brian Kelly seemed to be searching for answers just like the rest of America during an interview with Heather Cox. The reality seems to be if you give Nick Saban over a month to prepare for a game then he will make sure his team is ready and they will dominate the competition. We have seen it two years in a row and there's little reason to think that it won't continue.


The SEC has won the last seven national titles and they have a choke hold on the college football scene. Has their ever been a run this impressive by one conference in any sport? It would be tough to think of one. The idea that the SEC championship is the national championship has never seemed truer. It's also never seemed more obvious that a playoff system is needed in college football.

However, don't take that last statement as a slight to Notre Dame. The Irish deserved to be in the championship game after an undefeated season and people who argue that Oregon or Kansas State should have been in the title game must remember that no matter the schedules, those teams cost themselves the chance. They didn't do what was necessary to be in the title game and Notre Dame did. That said, it's still a better idea to do a playoff and thankfully college football has one coming soon.

I would imagine the television ratings plummeted in the second half as the Tide clearly had the game wrapped up. Fans complain that there hasn't been a good national title game in a few years and while a playoff won't be fool proof it certainly will put two teams in the championship that have won their way there in a playoff fashion that we are accustomed to in America.

When the playoff system is implemented don't be surprised if these two teams go head-to-head again. Both schools bring in remarkable recruiting classes and Notre Dame is still in the process of coming back on the national scene. This year, despite the blowout, will no doubt help the recruiting as the Irish finished undefeated in the regular season and Manti Te'o finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Hate on ND or Bama all you want, but the reality is that the game is better when both of them are good. They are the traditional titans of college football and they bring in the money for the sport. Their simultaneous greatness will help the sport as times do seem tumultuous with conference realignment and other money-hungry issues dominating the headlines.

With a playoff system on the brink, we can hope that routine beatdowns in the national title game are in the rear view mirror, but with the way Alabama looked Monday night in Miami, maybe that's not a sure thing.